Injuries in Iranian Elite Female Volleyball Players

Volleyball is one of the most popular sports in the world. The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of injury in Iranian elite female volleyball players. 74 players from five teams which participated in 2006-2007 Iran female volleyball leagues were studied. The data of injuries were collected using injury report form that was completed by team physicians. Descriptive statistics and chi square test were used for analysis of data. Totally, 27 injuries were noted; 77.8% occurred in lower extremities, 18.5% in upper extremities and 3.7% in trunk. Most common sites of injury were ankle (51.8%) and knee (22.2%). Most common types of injuries were sprain (55.6%) and strain (18.5%). The majority of injuries occurred in spikers (55.6%), setters (25.9%) and liberos (18.5%). Spikers were injured mostly in ankle and knee, setters in fingers and liberos in wrist. There was no difference between contact and non – contact injuries (?2 = 1, P>0.05). Injuries during practice were significantly more than competition (?2=5.89, P<0.05). Most of injuries occurred because of landing. Injuries occurred in front line position were significantly higher than back line position (?2=5.81, P<0.05). In conclusion, spikers were more prone to ankle and knee injury during landing and sprain was the most common type of injury and front line was the most critical zone in volleyball court. These findings are useful to volleyball medical staff to cover the competition and also to design prevention strategies to minimize injury.